Connecting structure for ocean-going push-barge

ABSTRACT

A connecting structure for ocean-going push-barge combination, wherein a plurality of connecting pins are provided at the bow and both sides of a pusher boat in a manner slidable back and forth, and corresponding numbers of holes or ports for receiving and holding connecting pins therein are provided in the wall of a longitudinally, deeply notched stern of a barge where the bow and the sides of the pusher boat enter, the pusher boat and the barge being rigidly but separably joined together by insertion into the receiving and holding ports of the connecting pins depending on the relative drafts of the pusher boat and the barge to form a single seagoing unit.

United States Patent [191 Ono et al. Oct. 7, 1975 [54] CONNECTINGSTRUCTURE FOR 3,512,495 5/1970 Fletcher 1. 114/235 R O (;Q PUSH BARGE3,735,722 5/1973 Hooper 114/235 R [75] Inventors: Hiromu Ono,Nishinomiya;

Yoshikiyo Kanefusa, Kawanishi, both of Japan [73] Assignee: AokiConstruction Company Limited, Osaka, Japan [22] Filed: June 5, 1974 [21]Appl. N0.: 476,689

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 5, 1973 Japan 48-111356 Mar.20, 1974 Japan 49-31289 [52] U.S. Cl 114/235 R [51] Int. Cl? B63B 21/64[58] Field of Search 114/235 R, 77

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,345,970 10/1967 Long114/235 R Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Assistant ExaminerSherman D.Basinger Attorney, Agent, or FirmLewis H. Eslinger; Alvin Sinderbrand[57] ABSTRACT A connecting structure for ocean-going push-bargecombination, wherein a plurality of connecting pins are provided at thebow and both sides of a pusher boat in a manner slidable back and forth,and corresponding numbers of holes or ports for receiving and holdingconnecting pins therein are provided in the wall of a longitudinally,deeply notched stern of a barge where the bow and the sides of thepusher boat enter, the pusher boat and the barge being rigidly butseparably joined together by insertion into the receiving and holdingports of the connecting pins depending on the relative drafts of thepusher boat and the barge to form a single seagoing unit.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 1 of43,910,219

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 2 of4 3,910,219

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,910,219

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 4 of4 3,910,219

CONNECTING STRUCTURE FOR OCEAN-GOING PUSH-BARGE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to an oceangoing push-tug for pushingships, barges, etc., and, more particularly, it is concerned with aconnecting structure for the oceangoing pusher-barge combination,wherein both pusher boat and barge are rigidly joined and unitedtogether to form a single seagoing unit.

As an expedient for the marine transportation of commodities andmaterials, the so-called pushtowing or push-tug-system has recently beenintroduced and adopted with giant strides. The reason for thisremarkable tendency may be ascribed to the following: (I) a lowconstruction cost; (2) less number of crew; (3) a greater tonnage fortransportation than that afforded by a self-navigating barge (afreighter or cargo boat having in itself a driving power) in respect ofthe same draft; (4) a faster navigating speed than the'towing system byabout 30%; and (5) the least difference in its steering performance fromthat of the selfnavigating boats.

In spite of such advantages the pusher boat provides, however, thepush-tug system now in fashion has some vulnerable points in itsconnecting structure or mechanism with the consequence that thenavigation on the rough sea has been extremelydifficult or evenimpossible.

That is to say, in the stormy weather when great waves billow on thesurface of the sea, the pusher boat and the barge bring about relativeup-and-down motion therebetween. In the conventional system which keepsboth pusher boat and barge in a fastened state, while permitting therelative up-and-down motion therebetween to a certainextent, thepush-towing is possible so far .as the sea is not so rough, but, whenthe sea becomes rough and great waves surge over it, the relative motionbetween the barge and the pusher boat becomes accordingly large with theconsequence that the impact force imparted to the connecting device forthe boats augments to an extreme degree by the following mathematicalequation:

where Q represents the impact force to the connecting device, M isweights of the pusher boat and the barge, and V denotes speed of theboats. In this equation, when the value of V becomes larger, the valueof Q increases in proportion to the value V As the result of repetitionof such large impact force on the connecting device, the mechanismbecomes finally damaged to make it impossible for the boats to continuenavigation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing defects and problems withthe heretofore known push-towing system in mind, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide an oceangoing pusher-barge combinationwhich is free from the defects inherent in the conventional connectingmechanism for the push-towing system.

' It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedconnecting structure for an oceangoing pusher boat and a barge to enablethe pusher boat to push-navigate the barge most safely even on the roughsea, the connecting structure being constructed in such a manner thatthe barge is provided at its stern with a large indentation or aconcaved recess which permits the bow of the pusher boat to be insertedthereinto, a plurality of connecting pins, for example, three pieces,are provided in the vicinity of the front part of the pusher boat, oneat the bow and each of the remaining two at both sides (port andstarboard) of the pusher boat near its center part, and a correspondingnumbers (three, in this case) of holes or ports for receiving andholding therein the connecting pins are formed in the side wall of thebarge at its indented stem at positions corresponding to the connectingpins provided on the pusher boat, whereby the pusher boat and the bargeare fixedly connected at the plurality of points, e.g., three, to avoidthe relative motion between them as a single seagoing boat.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide theimproved pusher-barge combination of the above-mentioned construction,wherein the receiving and holding ports for the connecting pins areprovided in a plurality of stages in the up-and-down direction of thelongitudinally indented or notched stern wall of the barge, theconnection of the pusher boat and the barge being effected by insertingthe connecting pins into a selected stage of the receiving and holdingports in the notched stern wall of the barge in accordance with therelative drafts of the pusher boat and the barge due to a state of thecargo loading, i.e., full or empty.

It is other object of the present invention to provide the improvedconnecting structure for a pusher boat and a barge, wherein a pluralityof connecting pins having a tapered tip are provided in the bow and bothsides of the pusher boat in a freely projectionable manner, whilecorresponding numbers of receiving and holding ports having alsoconforming tapered or conical shape are provided in the longitudinallyindented stern wall of the barge at positions corresponding to theconnecting pins so as to tightly but separably receive and join themthereinto, whereby the gap or clearance between the connecting pins andthe holding ports is completely eliminated to avoid the undesirablerelative motion between the pusher boat and the barge, to removerepeated, strong impact of small amplitude to be imparted to theconnecting mechanism owing to the small gap therebetween during thenavigation on the rough sea, and to prevent the connecting structure andvarious instruments and appliances installed in the pusher boat fromdamages as well as unpleasantness felt by the crews on their bodies.

The foregoing objects of the present invention together with thedetailed construction and functions of the connecting structure for theoceangoing push-tug will become more apparent and understandable fromthe following description of a few preferred embodiments thereof whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational viewshowing a state of the oceangoing pusher-barge combination in thefullloaded barge;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing a state of the oceangoingpusher-barge combination in the empty barge;

FIG: 3 is a top plan view showing a connection of the pusher boat andthe barge;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the oceangoing pusher-bargecombination when the barge is fullloaded;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the oceangoing pusher-bargecombination when the barge is emptyloaded;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view partly in crosssection showing adevice for simultaneously inserting and retracting the connecting pinsinto and fromvthe receiving and holding ports on both sides of theboatbarge hulls, in the state of the connecting pins yet to be insertedinto the receiving and holding ports;

FIG. 7 is also a side elevational view partly in crosssection showingthe device for simultaneously inserting and retracting the connectingpins in the state of the connecting pins having been inserted into thereceiving and holding ports in the barge hull;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of theconnecting pins and the receiving and holding ports for the pusher-bargecombination;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, partly enlarged, showing the coupledstate of the tapered connecting pin and the receiving and holding port;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view, partly enlarged, showing the taperedconnecting pin and the receiving and holding port prior to their beingcoupled; and

FIG. 11 is also a cross-sectional view, partly enlarged, showing thetapered connecting pin and the receiving and holding port when they areabout to be coupled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3which indicate the connection or coupling between a selfnavigatingpusher boat A and a cargo-loading, dummy barge B having noself-propelling mechanism, the stern Ba of the barge B is provided witha deep indentation or concaved notch C to allow the bow of the pusherboat A to enter into The pusher boat A is provided near the center parta of the left side (or port side) of the hull with a connecting pin 1which is made projectionable and retractible by a hydraulic cylinder 2.The boat is also provided near the center part b of the right side (orthe starboard) of the hull with another connecting pin 4 which is madeprojectionable and retractible by another hydraulic cylinder 5. Further,the boat A is provided in the vicinity of its bow d with a connectingpin 7 which is made projectionable and retractible by a hydrauliccylinder 8.

On the other hand, the barge B is provided at the left side thereof witha receiving and holding port 3 near the stern D at a positioncorresponding to the connecting pin 1 so as to receive and hold the sametherein. In the same way. the right side of the barge is provided withanother receiving and holding port 6 near the stern E at a positioncorresponding to the connecting pin 4 so as to receive and hold the sametherein. Further, in the vicinity of the innermost part C of thelongitudinally, deeply notched stern C of the barge B, there is provideda receiving and holding port 9 to receive and hold therein theconnecting pin 7 provided at the bow d of the pusher boat A.

The basic structure for the pusher boat-barge connection according tothe present invention is therefore to rigidly join the pusher boat A andthe barge B together at a plurality of points (in the above-describedembodiment, it is at three points). However, the state of the connectionshould naturally be different according to the cargo loading on thebarge, i.e., whether it is full-loaded or empty-loaded.

In order therefore to maintain adequate joining between the pusher boatand the barge depending on the state of the barge loading, i.e.-,relative drafts of the pusher boat and the barge, the receiving andholding ports formed in the wall of the deeply notched stern areprovided in at least the upper and lower lines as shown in FIGS. 4 and5.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 4, when the barge B is in its fullyloaded state, hence deep draft, the connecting pin 1 at the left sidethereof is held by the receiving and holding port 3, the connecting pin4 at the right side thereof is held by the receiving and holding port 6,and the connecting'pin 7 at the bow thereof is inserted and held by thereceiving and holding port 9, whereby the pusher boat A and the barge Bare joined together at the three points.

On the other hand, when the barge B is in an emptyloaded state as shownin FIGS. 2 and 5, the connecting pin 1 at the left side is inserted andheld by a receiving and holding port 3' for the empty loading formedbelow the receiving and holding port 3, the connecting pin 4 at theright side is inserted and held by a receiving and holding port 6 forthe empty-loading formed below the receiving and holding port 6, and theconnecting pin 7 at the bow thereof is inserted into a receiving andholding port 9' for the empty loading provided below the receiving andholding port 9 for the full loading and held therein by means of thecylinder 8.

In the above-described connecting structure for the pusher boat and thebarge according to the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5inclusive, the connecting pins 1 and 4 at both left and right sides areinserted and retracted independently of the other by the separate,individual actuating cylinders 2 and 5.

It is however possible that both connecting pins 1 and 4 aresimultaneously operated by a common cylinder as indicated in FIGS. 6 and7.

According to this embodiment, the left side connecting pin 1 isconnected to a piston 11 by way of an end arm 1, a connecting arm 16,and another connecting arm 15' which is secured at one end of a pistonrod 12 for the piston 11, while the right side connecting pin 4 isconnected to the piston 1 1 by way of an end arm 4', a connecting arm16' and the other end of the connecting arm 15. The left side connectingarm 16 and the right side connecting arm 16 are pivotally connected attheir one end to both ends of the connecting arm 15 by means of pivotpins 18 and 18, while the end arms 1' and 4' of the connecting pins 1and 4, respectively, are pivotally connected at the other end of theconnecting arms 16 and 16 by means of pivot pins 20 and 20.

On the other hand, a small connecting arm 17 for the leftside andanother small connecting arm 17 for the right side pivotally fitted attheir one end on the respective fulcrums 21 and 21 provided at certainposition on the cylinder are pivotally connected at the other endthereof to the central position of the connecting arms 16 and 16 bymeans of pivot pins 19 and 19, respectively. Length of the smallconnecting arms 17 and 17 is made half a length of the connecting arms16 and 16.

Incidentally, the ports 22 and 23 are for feeding lubricant into theguide path for the connecting pins 1 and 4, and the receiving andholding ports 3 and 6 to enable the connecting pins to smoothly slidealong the guide paths and the portsfor their intromission andwithdrawal. v

The connecting pins of the above-described structure is operated in thefollowing fashion.

When a pressurizedfluid (either liquid or gas is sent into the cylinderfrom a fluid passage port 13, the piston 11 moves toward a fluid passageport 14, whereupon the connecting rod 5 secured at oneend of the pistonrod 12 opposite the piston 11 also moves along with it. Since the smallconnecting arms 16 and 16a for both left and right sides rotate on thepivot of the fulcrums 21 and 21, respectively, the loci of both pivotpins and 20a are as represented by a straight line X-X in FIG. 6, andthe left side connecting pin 1 and the right side connecting pin 4 arethus caused to project outwardly along the line X-Xv to be inserted intothe respective receiving and holdingports 3 and 6 as shown in H6. 7.

.The connection of the pusher boat; A and thebarge B can be released bythe reverse operation to the above. That is, when the pressurized fluidis sent into the cylinder 10 throughthe fluid passage port 14, thepiston 11 moves toward the fluid passage port 13, whereupon the leftside connecting pin 1 and the right side connecting pin 4 withdraw fromthe respective receiving and holding ports 3 and 6 andthe pusher boat Aand the barge B are thus separated.

The advantage to be derived from this simultaneous connecting system issuch that,.while the piston 11 is positioned near the fluid passage port13, the shifting speed of the connecting pins land 4 along the directionof the line X-X is faster than the shifting speed of the piston 11, and,as the piston is going to be close to the fluid passage port 14, theshifting speed of the connecting pins 1 and 4 on the straight line X-X"becomes slower than the shifting speed of the piston 11, in the courseof which thethrusting force of the connecting pins 1 and 4 augments toultimately attain the infinity, so that even if a large external forceis imparted to both connecting pins 1 and 4, sufficiently largeinserting and retracting force counter to such external force can beobtained with the connecting pins.

in still another embodiment of the connecting structure according to thepresent invention, the connecting pins and the corresponding receivingand holding ports are shaped in a tapered form as shown in FIGS. 9, 10,and 11 so as to obtain more rigid and tight coupling between theconnecting pin and the receiving and holding port free from any gap orclearance between them to minimize undesirable vibrations and shockscaused by such gap to the pusher boat A and the barge B as combined.

Referring now to the drawing, three tapered connecting pins -1, 4, and 7are provided at the bow and both sides of the pusher boat A, and thecorresponding numbers of the receiving and holding ports 3, 6, and 9 areformed in the wall of the concaved notch at the stern of the barge B atthe positions corresponding to those of the connecting pins 1, 4, and 7.As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each of the tapered connecting pins 1, 4,and 7 is connected to one end of a piston rod 24 of each of thecylinders 2, 5, and 8, and is made freely slidable back and forth alongthe guide path 25.

The inner surface F of each of the tapered receiving and holding ports3, 6, and 9, and the outer surface G of each of the tapered connectingpins 1, 4, and 7 may be as it is, or be coated with an elastic materialsuch as rubber, neoprene, or the like, although the connecting pin andthe receiving and holding port are formed in such a manner that, intheir engaged state, there exists no gap or clearance between them.

Since the connecting pin and the receiving and holding port of the knowntype are in a cylindrical form, a certain degree of gap or clearance isnecessary as an allowance for the insertion. Accordingly, even in theirconnected state, there inevitably remains such clearance between them,which ensues a certain moving distancebetween the pusher boat and thebarge to cause impact therebetween. According to experiences by theapplicant, very strong, mincing vibrations or shocks are brought aboutin the pusher boat and barge combination on the surging ocean, even ifthe gap between the connecting pin and the receiving and holding port isfrom 5 to 6 mm which is less than l/ of the connecting pin having adiameter of 1 meter with the consequence that heavy impact is impartedto both pusher boat and barge to damage not only the connectingstructure per se but also the hulls and various instruments andappliances installed therein.

According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention,however, as the connecting pins 1, 4, and 7 and the receiving andholding ports 3, 6, and 9 are made in a tapered or conical form, eachpair of the connecting pins and the receiving and holding ports can besufficiently press-contacted each other without anyclearance whatsoeverbetween them with the result that there is no possibility of theundesirable impact being caused to the boat and barge combination. Thatis to say, the impact is a phenomenon which takes place by collision oftwo moving objects, and, for the collision to take place, a certainmoving distance should be presenLHowever, as in the present inventionwhere no clearance exists between the connecting pin and the receivingand holding port, there is no moving distance between the pin andtheport, hence no possibility of the impact taking place between them.

Further, in order to prevent the tapered or conical connecting pins 1,4, and 7 from slipping out of the re- I ceiving and holding ports 3, 6,and 9 by an external force such as waves, etc., a pressure accumulator26 is provided on each of the cylinders 2, 5, and 8 so as to constantlyimpart the hydraulic pressure to the piston.

By thus constructing the connecting structure, the piston rod 24constantly acts to press-contact the tapered connecting pins 1, 4, and 7to the receiving and holding ports 3, 6, and 9.

Also, as shown in FIG. 11, since the connecting pins 1, 4, and 7 are inthe tapered or conical shape, they can be readily inserted into andcoupled with the receiving and holding ports 3, 6, and 9, even if therearises a difference a between the center line P--P of each of theconnecting pins 1, 4, and 7 and the center line SS of each of thereceiving and holding ports 3, 6, and 9 due to difference in the draftsbetween the pusher boat and the barge caused by the degree of cargoloading on the barge B and the weight of equipments on the pusher boatA. In more detail, the connecting pins 1, 4, and 7 move outward in thearrow direction Y by means of the piston rod 24 which is actuated byfeeding a pressurized fluid into each of the cylinders 2, 5, and 8 foreach connecting pin, and in the course of the outward shifting of thetapered connecting pins, even when it happens that the tapered end M ofthe connecting pin touches the corner surface L of each of the receivingand holding ports 3, 6, and 9, the pin can be easily thrusted into thereceiving and holding ports 3, 6, and

9. Inversely, when the connecting pins are to be separated from thereceiving and holding ports, the withdrawal of the pins therefrom can bedone very easily, since the conical shape of the pin and the port bringsabout less frictional resistance between them than that caused betweenthe cylindrical pin and the port.

Thus, according to the above-described embodiments of the presentinvention, the pusher boat and the barge can be perfectly and n'gidlyjoined into a single seagoing unit which is free from undesirablevibrations and shocks caused by collision of the hulls of the pusherboat and the barge, whereby not only the connecting structure andvarious instruments equipped in the pusher boat can be prevented fromdamages, but also any unpleasantness felt by the crews due to suchvibrations and impact can be removed. Particularly, when the connectingpins and the receiving and holding ports of the conical shape areadopted in this connecting system, the gap or clearance between theconnecting pins and the receiving and holding ports can be perfectlyeliminated, and, moreover, even if there exists a difference in thedraft between the pusher boat and the barge, the connecting andseparating operations can be carried out without difficulty.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described by way ofpreferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that such aremerely illustrative and not restrictive, and that variations andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention as recited in the appended claims. Forexample, the receiving and holding ports which are arranged in two upperand lower lines, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, of (3, 6, 9) and (3',6', 9) may be made in multiple stages as shown in FIG. 8. According tothis multi-stages receiving and holding ports, the connecting pins canbe inserted into any appropriate port of a level in accordance with therelative drafts of the pusher boat and the barge, hence preciseadjustment in the connection depending on the draft becomes feasible.

What is claimed is:

l. A connecting structure for an ocean-going pushbarge combination whichcomprises:

A. a pusher boat having a bow, sides and a stern, and

a center of gravity located intermediate said bow and stem, said boatincluding at least three connecting pins respectively located at the bowand both sides thereof; said connecting pin at the bow extendinggenerally axially of the boat in a forward direction and said connectingpins on the sides of the boat extending outwardly therefrom in oppositedirections; said pins being slidably mounted in the boat for movementoutwardly and inwardly thereof;

B. a barge having a longitudinally extending stern including a notchformed therein which extends extirely through the stern of the barge andhas a configuration generally complementary to the bow of the barge topermit entrance thereinto of the bow and both sides of said pusher boat,where said connecting pins are located, while the bow of the boatremains in the water, said stern of the barge having generallyvertically extending side walls defining the notch and having aplurality of recesses therein for receiving and holding, said connectingpins, when said pins are protruded from said pusher boat, said receivingand holding recesses being located in groups at positions correspondingto those of said connecting pins, when the boat is received in saidnotch with the recesses in each group being located in generallyvertically spaced alignment; and

C. means in said boat for extending and retracting said pins into andout of the recesses in the barge that are generally aligned therewith,whereby said pusher boat is adapted to be rigidly but separably joinedto the barge at a plurality of points on the bow and the two sidesthereof to form a single ocean going unit when said pins are extended,while the pins can be released from the barge and reengaged with otherrecesses therein to accommodate a change in the relative drafts of theboat and barge without movement of the boat out of said notch.

2. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein saidconnecting pins and said receiving and holding recesses are in acylindrical form.

3. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein saidconnecting pins and said receiving and holding recesses are generallyconical in form.

4. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein said means forextending and retracting said connecting pins comprises means forextending and retracting the respective 'pins independently of eachother.

5. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein said means forextending and retracting said connecting pins includes means forextending and retracting at least the pins on the sides of the boatsimultaneously with each other.

1. A connecting structure for an ocean-going push-barge combinationwhich comprises: A. a pusher boat having a bow, sides and a stern, and acenter of gravity located intermediate said bow and stern, said boatincluding at least three connecting pins respectively located at the bowand both sides thereof; said connecting pin at the bow extendinggenerally axially of the boat in a forward direction and said connectingpins on the sides of the boat extending outwardly therefrom in oppositedirections; said pins being slidably mounted in the boat for movementoutwardly and inwardly thereof; B. a barge having a longitudinallyextending stern including a notch formed therein which extends extirelythrough the stern of the barge and has a configuration generallycomplementary to the bow of the barge to permit entrance thereinto ofthe bow and both sides of said pusher boat, where said connecting pinsare located, while the bow of the boat remains in the water, said sternof the barge having generally vertically extending side walls definingthe notch and having a plurality of recesses therein for receiving andholding, said connecting pins, when said pins are protruded from saidpusher boat, said receiving and holding recesses being located in groupsat positions corresponding to those of said connecting pins, when theboat is received in said notch with the recesses in each group beinglocated in generally vertically spaced alignment; and C. means in saidboat for extending and retracting said pins into and out of the recessesin the barge that are generally aligned therewith, whereby said pusherboat is adapted to be rigidly but separably joined to the barge at aplurality of points on the bow and the two sides thereof to form asingle ocean going unit when said pins are extended, while the pins canbe released from the barge and reengaged with other recesses therein toaccommodate a change in the relative drafts of the boat and bargewithout movement of the boat out of said notch.
 2. The connectingstructure according to claim 1, wherein said connecting pins and saidreceiving and holding recesses are in a cylindrical form.
 3. Theconnecting structure according to claim 1, wherein said connecting pinsand said receiving and holding recesses are generally conical in form.4. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein said means forextending and retracting said connecting pins comprises means forextending and retracting the respective pins independently of eachother.
 5. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein saidmeans for extending and retracting said connecting pins includes meansfor extending and retracting at least the pins on the sides of the boatsimultaneously with each other.